Formed container and closure therefor



Nov. 8, 1966 s. m. COLLIE FORMED CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Dec 28, 1964 INVENTOR S D COLLI E United States Patent 3,283,942 FORMED CONTAINER AND CLOSURE THEREFOR Stafford D. Collie, Orangeburg, N.Y., assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 421,230 5 Claims. (Cl. 220-60) This invention relates to a formed container and a closure therefor. In one of its aspects, the invention relates to a formed container made of plastic and a closure therefor, the said container having a reinforcing annular element providing a closure-engaging portion as well as rigidity at the closed end of the container disposed at, and integral with, the open end of said container, the lid having a cover portion and a depending skirt portion, the skirt portion being formed to mate with said element upon application of the lid thereto, both the element and lid skirt portions being tapered but at different angles whereby the skirt portion is stretched as is frictional'ly engages the reinforcing element. In another of its aspects, the invention provides for a closed container made of a container portion and a closure or lid portion, the entire assembly being of plastic of different weights, thicknesses or gauges, the reinforcing element described herein being of of heavier gauge than the container wall portion. In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a container portion formed with a heading at the open end thereof and a strengthening ring made of heavier plastic adapted to receive and to be sealed together with said beaded portion, said ring also providing a portion for "frictional engagement the depending skirt of the lid as already described and as more fuily described herein. In yet another aspect of the invention, the lid is undercut or recessed at the place at which the depending skirt and closing portion of the 'lid join so as to receive within the recess the end, as it were, of the ring at the opening of the container, the open end of which a portion of the ring forms.

In the art of closures as evidenced by the great many United States patents available showing various types of closures, there continues to be a real demand for a simplified, cheap-to-construct, yet effectively closing plastic container. As will be seen from the description made in this disclosure and in connection with the drawings to which reference is made herein, I have conceived of a formed container which can be made of plastic such as polyethylene and the like. The container is formed with a ring sealed thereto to give rigidity to the relatively thinner gauge material and also provide a surface over which a closure can be applied by frictional engagement and, in one embodiment, snapped, construction being provided for the snap engagement. The closure means, which preferably is of plastic, has an annular depending skirt which is slightly less tapered than the outer surface of the reinforcing ring or element so as to provide a friction fit on closing which, for some uses, is suflicient to provide closure without snap-engagement. The ring can have any cross-sectional shape, but a portion thereof will be tapered or curved so as to receive a skirt member thereover which, while similarly tapered or curved, will have slightly less taper or curve so that a stretching engagement of the skirt with the ring or element is provided. An annular undercut can be provided in the closure or lid as will be more fully described with reference to the drawing.

An object of the invention is to provide a formed con tainer. Another object of the invention is to provide a formed container made of plastic. A further object of the invention is to provide a relatively narrow gauge or thin-walled plastic container, the open end of which is so "ice formed or constructed that it can receive and retain desirably a closure or lid or cover which preferably is made also of a plastic. A still further object of the invention is to provide a combination of a closable container and a frictionally retained lid of simplified design and cheapto-constr-uct nature. A still further object of the invention is to provide a plastic container having a plastic snap-on lid.

Other aspects, objects, and the several advantages of the invention are apparent from a study of this disclosure, the drawing, and the appended claims.

According to the present invention, there is provided a closable container comprising a container portion open at one end and a friction-retained lid or closure therefor, said container being formed of a plastic of a predetermined gau'ge or thickness and having a plastic reinforcing annular element tapered up inwardly toward the top thereof to provide a closure engaging portion and rigidity for said container portion disposed at, and integral with, the open end of said container, said lid having a cover portion and a depending skirt portion, said skirt portion being formed to mate with said element upon application of said lid thereto, and being tapered similarly to said element, but having a lesser taper angle whereby, when pressure is applied to the lid to close the container, at least the skirt portion of said lid stretches and frictionally engages the tapered portion of said element. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the container and the lid are made of plastic which can be, and still more preferably is, substantially the same material but of different relative weights.

Referring to the drawing, FIGURE I is an isometric view of the several portions of a preferred embodiment of the invention. FIGURE II illustrates the frictional engagement of the differently tapered lid and open, reinforced end of a container. FIGURE III illustrates the lid in partial frictional engagement with the reinforcing ring or element, the ring and element being adapted for snap-in engagement. FIGURE IV shows the air-tight engagement of the lid and reinforcing ring or element and how the male portion of the ring is received into and hfleld1 an snap-in engagement by the undercut portion of t e i Referring now to FIGURE I, a container 2 is provided with a heading 3 over which there is received a strengthening ring 4 having a bead-engaging portion 5. The ring 4 has an inwardly tapered or curved upper portion 6 over which similarly formed lid 7 is pressed for frictional and/or snap-in engagement, as the case may be. The cover portion of lid 7, in this embodiment, has a recess extending substantially, but not entirely, across its diameter to receive a cardboard or paper on which labeling information can be printed. This paper or board is identified as 8 at the top of FIGURE I. Viewing the various parts of FIGURE I, it will be noted that element 8 fits into element 7 which espouses upper portion 6 of element 4, and that lower portion 5 of element 4 espouses portion 3 of container 2. These elements, except for the engagement between the lid and the reinforcing ring 4, plan be sealed together as by cement or other sealing as by eat.

Referring now to FIGURE II, elements 4 and 7 are shown as tapered but having a diiferent taper, element 7 being somewhat of smaller diameter at its base than elernent 4. This provides for frictional engagement. In this figure, the tapered portions are substantially rectilinear when viewed in cross section.

Referring now to FIGURE III, the-re is shown again the co-action of elements 4 and 7 and the approach of the top end 9 of element 4 to the undercut, or recessed, portion 10 of the lid. In FIGURE IV, the air-tight closure 3 has been made. mated. There is now snapped-in, as well as frictional, air-tight seal-ing.

It will be noted that the leak-proof, snap-in closure means for a container which, in one embodiment, can be vacuum formed, can be opened and closed at will, yet when closed forms a relatively rigid, airtight sealed container. Such a container has various uses for refrigerated and freezer-type food containers which are periodically to be opened and re-closed. The lid cannot be removed accidentially in normal freezer and/or supermarket'or other shipping or storage handling. There is a strengthening of the container around its open end where rigidity is most needed for consumer handling and the cooperation with a secured lid or cover. The lid does not have to be heat sealed to the base, albeit it is within the scope of the invention here set out and the claims appended hereto to either spot weld or entirely otherwise seal, such as by heat sealing or cementing the lid portion or closing means to the container. It is, however, to be noted with emphasis that this invention provides a completely air-tight sealed closed container without permanent sealing.

The container being composed of simply manufactured parts and readily assembled and the parts being producible from different thicknesses of plastic sheet, an over-all unit is obtained at minimum cost yet with sufficient desirable rigidity. Thus, a base which can be vacuum formed from a low to medium caliper plastic sheet is combined with a ring or strengthening lip which can be vacuum formed from medium to heavy caliper plastic sheet, and a cover or lid incorporating an undercut for snapping in a board copy material having essentially the same contours or form as that of the ring and which can be formed from a low caliper plastic sheet to form a preferred embodiment of the invention.

. It will be noted that in the operation of pressing the lid onto the container, air is evacuated around the joining portions as these are increasingly frictionally engaged with the other and this by the simple process of pressing down upon the cover portion of the lid.

Viewing the drawings, it is evident that a closable container-lid combination is provided in which the reinforcing element extends beyond the open end of the container forming a male lip portion which can be engaged in the undercut portion of the lid. The engagement can be a snap-engagement.

Further, the container can be formed with a reinforcing element receiving beading and, in view of the features described, the entire container and lid can be formed with respective resiliencies most effectively cooperating over many closings and openings of the assemblage.

As an example of this invention, a container is made in accordance with FIGURE I. All parts except the printed board insert are made of 0.960 density, 0.9 melt index polyethylene. The depth is 1 /2 inches, the diameter at the base is 3 inches and the diameter at the top is 3 /2 inches. The body of the container has a wall thickness of mils. The strengthening ring is composed of material 40 mils in thickness and this ring is heat sealed to the body of the container. The printed board insert is mil cardboard and is sealed to the annular lid element with a sealing compound. This lid element is composed of material 15 mils in thickness; its inner diameter is 3 inches The variously numbered elements have at the base and 3 inches near the undercut area at the top. The outer diameter of the strengthening ring is 3 inches at the base and 3 inches at the top.

Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope of the foregoing disclosure, the drawing, and the appended claims to the invention, the essence of which is that there has been provided a formed container having a frictionally and/or snap-in closure or lid, the container having a plastic reinforcing element which provides a closure engaging portion and rigidity for said container, and a lid having 3. depending skirt portion being formed to mate with said element, the skirt portion and said element being of different tapers to cause stretching of the skirt portion over said element as the lid is applied to the closure, in one embodiment, the lid having a female portion provided by an undercut therein adapted to receive a male portion of said reinforcing element or ring or snap-on or snap-in engagement.

I claim:

1. A closable container comprising a container portion open at one end and a friction-retained lid or closure therefore, said container being formed of a plastic of a predetermined gauge or thickness and having a plastic reinforcing annular element tapered inwardly toward the top thereof providing a closure engaging portion and rigidity for such container portion disposed at, and integral with, the open end of said container, said lid having a cover portion and a depending skirt portion, said skirt portion having a form so disposed and arranged as to mate with said element upon application of said lid thereto and being tapered similarly to said element but with less taper angle whereby when pressure is applied to the lid to close the container at least the skirt portion of said lid stretches and frictionally engages the tapered portion of said element.

2. A container assembly according to claim 1 wherein said lid is formed of a plastic material.

3. A closable container-lid combination according to claim 1 wherein said element extends beyond the open end of the container forming a male lip portion, wherein the lid is formed at the joint of the skirt and the covering portion thereof with an annular female recess adapted to snap-engage said lid.

4. A closable container and lid according to claim 3 wherein the lid is undercut to form a resilient restricted opening into said recess to provide the snap-engagement.

5. A closable container and lid according to claim 1 wherein the container portion is formed with a reinforcing element receiving heading and wherein the reinforcing element is formed for at least a portion thereof extending axially thereof to receive and to mate with said bead- References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,746,669 5/1956 Moore 22943 2,801,039 7/ 1957 Arneson 22943 3,176,868 4/1965 Crisci 22060 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

G. T. HALL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CLOSABLE CONTAINER COMPRISING A CONTAINER PORTION OPEN AT ONE END AND A FRICTION-RETAINED LID OR CLOSURE THEREFORE, SAID CONTAINER BEING FORMED OF A PLASTIC OF A PREDETERMINED GAUGE OR THICKNESS AND HAVING A PLASTIC REINFORCING ANNULAR ELEMENT TAPERED INWARDLY TOWARD THE TOP THEREOF PROVIDING A CLOSURE ENGAGING PORTION AND RIGIDITY FOR SUCH CONTAINER PORTION DISPOSED AT, AND INTEGRAL WITH, THE OPEN END OF SAID CONTAINER, SAID LID HAVING A COVER PORTION AND A DEPENDING SKIRT PORTION, SAID SKIRT PORTION HAVING A FORM SO DISPOSED AND ARRANGED AS TO MATE WITH SAID ELEMENT UPON APPLICATION OF SAID LID THERETO AND BEING TAPERED SIMILARLY TO SAID ELEMENT BUT WITH LESS TAPER ANGLE WHEREBY WHEN PRESSURE IS APPLIED TO THE LID TO CLOSE THE 